Moistureproof container



Nov. 28, 1939. P. s. PlTTl-:NGER

MOISTUREPROOF CONTANER Filed, Jan. 2, 1936 \NVENTO.R

BY M/w #im x www l ATTORNEYS Patented Nov. 28, 1939 UNITED a STATES fPATENT oil-Fics harp & Dohme, Incorporated, Pa., a corporation ofMaryland Philadelphia,

Application lJanuary 2, .1936, Serial No. 57,102

3A claims.

IIhis invention relates to hermetically sealed containers or tins.. Itincludes containers or tins which are completely moistureproof, yet areprovided with frangible or easily perforable wall sections, which, whenfractured or pierced to open the containers, oer no sharp cutting edgeswhich might cut the fingers, etc.

One object of the present invention is to pro- .vide a sealed containerwith `a frangible wall section, which is nevertheless completelymoistureproof. The only moistureproof, containers of which I am awareare containers having no porous or permeable wall sections, and iniwhich'all seams arehermetically sealed. Containers having wall sections ofpaper, parchment, regenerated cellulose, or the like are notmoistureproof.

It has been proposedfto provide containers or tins with wall sections fras paper or parchment, .seamed to the other sections of the container.Such wall sections,

E however,

do not prevent the ingress of moisture, but only retard it. Even paperor parchment coated with parain falls to prevent the entrance ofmoisture completely. 'Ihe problems encountered due to this penetrationof moisture are particularly acute where the containers are used Vforshipping and ,storing hygroscopic materials such as hard candies,coughdrops, coffee, etc., which deteriorate in the presence of moisture,and which are shipped or stored in tropical climates, where they maybeexposed to air a1- most saturated with water vapor at relatively hightemperatures for prolonged periods of time. For such use, containerswhich rely upon a wall surface of paper or the like, even socalledmoistureproof paper, are not sumciently moisturea resistant to properlypreserve such hygroscoplc materials.

Accordingly,

package and ship hygroscopic materials in containers having all metalsurfaces, hermetically sealed. Where it is desirable to aiord means foropening the container without resort to a canopener, or the like, it hasbeen common to seal the container by means of taggers tin or the like,and to provide either a key with which to remove a section`ofthecitainer wall, or to provide an auxiliary cover equipped with acutter adapted to remove the sealed top of the container by cutting-..Such containers, when opened, have a sharp` jagged edge and frequentlyare responsible for painful cuts, etc.

It hasv also been proposed to provide con= tainers with a wall sectionofmetal foil. to pro` angible material, such it has been common practiceto,

vide a readily frangibleopening. Such` foil, however, in order to' alloweconomical handling, and to be capable of forming a tight seal with theother sheet metal of lwhich the container is made, for practical andlarge-scale operation,v -6 musthave .appreciable thickness and be quiteheavy, and hence its use is relatively expensive. This is particularlytrue in cases where it is desired to print or lithograph on the foil, asit must then be made of aluminum or the like of sulcient l0 weight toburnish and polis My invention provides a container with a wall sectionwhich is completely moistureproof.' which is frangible.' andv may beremoved or fractured without the use of a. cutting tool, which'vmay. 15carryaprinted or lithographed matter, which .is economical 'and easilyhandled and shipped, and which may be hermetically sealed in place by asimple operation.

'I'he containers'produced in accordance with 2o the present inventionhave the further advantage that they may be lled before. the frangibletop 'f' or section is applied. Thus, as inthe usual case, the containermay be made with a bottom and sides,then lled, and the frangible sectionapplied as the top, and sealed in place.

Containers heretofore provided with a frangible l top, as of paper orthe like, Ysealed in place, have generally been assembled by forming thetop and sides, filling the container from the bottom, and then sealingthe bottom inplace. 30

The frangible section in such containers has been generally used toinsure that the product in the container is that originally packedthere,4 and is not spurious. Such seals have generally 35 been securedby interior seams, and have not been relied upon to protect the materialin the container from, moisture. Containers of this type not only, havethe' disadvantage of having to be filled from the bottom, but also mustbe made with a bottom seam, whereas, in my con- 40 tainers, -the bottomand sides` of the container may be madefrom a single sheet of metal,stamped in a single operation.

I use for the frangible wall section 'a composite or laminated sheet ofmaterial, composed of an extremely thin sheet of metal, fastenedsecurely to a sheet of paper, and backed by cardboardv or a heavy paper.The metal foil attached to paper is commercially available and isrelatively cheap'. The metal foil which I use is extremely thin and isso frangible that withoutthe paper to which it is fastened it cannot behandled or shipped, at least without such precautionsas to render thecost ofits use for .any purpose prohibitive.

This thin metal foil, however, in spite of its extreme thinness,possesses the desirable property of being moistureproof.

This metal foil consists of an extremely thin sheet of metalwhich may beproduced by cold rolling a suitable alloy, i. e., an alloy having theproperty of cold flow without cracking. One suitable foil is producedfrom an` aluminum alloy, and is rolled to extreme thinness. It isiiexible and highly polished. It is well adapted for printing orlithographing. It is to be understood that the process by which the foilis made, or its composition, is no part of my invention,

' but that any foil having the desired properties be handled withfacility,

periphery container may may be used.

'I'he foil and paper to which it is fastened are mounted upon cardboardor heavy, to provide a sheet which is suiciently stiff to andsufliciently thick to allow proper sealing. Very .thin sheets can not beused with any assurance where a moistureproof seal is required, aschanical operations of rolling and crimping, or double sealing, mayresult in an improper seal, whereas with the sheet material which I use,the cardboard or heavy paper backing acts as a compressible gasket andinsures a proper The laminated sheet, of metal foil, paper, andreinforcement, is preferably about 11g inch thick.

While it is necessary to have the cardboard or heavy paper backing forthe wall section at the of the section, where it is sealed, I find it isalso advantageous not to have the reinforcement coextensive with thesection, but to have a portion of suitable size With no reinforcement,i. e, to have a suitable section in which the wall consists only of themetal foil and the paper to which it is attached. Such a construction isof great advantage, in that it affords a container which is readilyopened, only pressure of the ngers being required at the unreinforcedsection to burst it and expose the contents of the container. It is alsodesirable, where on unreinforced portion of the wall section isprovided, to indicate in a suitable manner the location of theunreinforced portion, as by printing or lithographing, so that nodifficulty in opening the be encountered. For this reason,

' the thin, burnished metal which I use is advantageous, because of itssuitability for printing or lithographing. It is desirable, where suchconstruction is used, to provide a protection for this weak wallsection, as by a friction cover, or the like.

'Ihe invention will be further illustrated by reference to theaccompanying drawing, which j illustrates a container which embodies theinvention, although the invention is not limitedthereto. In the drawing,f

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a container bottom and sides, adapted toreceive a frangible section for a top; Y

Fig. 2 is a perspective View of the bottom of a frangible sectionadapted for use as the top of the container of Fig. 1; n

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional viewcfthe frangible section of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view of an assembled`- container; and

Fig. 5 is a detail View showing an alternate method of seaming.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged, broken, fragmentary, vertical, transverse sectionthrough the laminated sheet I6. l

Referring to Fig. l, I0 represents a stamped relatively thin` sheet Stipaper,

variations in the me- I Ametal hermetic seal.

sheet metal box, open at the top, intended to form the bottom and sidesof a rectangularcontainer for hygroscopic materials, etc. It has abottom I I, and sides I2, integrally formed from a single sheet of thinmetal. The bottom and sides have corrugations I3, intended to strengthenthe container and increase its rigidity, so as to allow metal to beused, land still have sufficient strength to withstand the pressureexerted in crimping and rolling tlie upper edges of the box. An internalshoulder or bead I4, is formed near the top of the box by an inward foldof the side walls. The side walls project above this shoulder a shortdistance, as shown at I5.

Adapted to rest on shoulder I4, and to fit snugly into the top openingof the box is the laminated sheet I6 shown in Figs. 2 and 3 and inbroken, fragmentary, vertical, transverse sec'- tion in Fig. 6. Thissheet is formed from an extremely thin sheet of highly polished aluminumalloy fastened to a sheet of paper by means of This dual sheet,consisting of thin and flexible paper I1a, is backed and supported bycardboard, or heavy stiff paper I8 `(see Fig. 6). This backing is notcoextensive with the composite metal-paper sheet, but is formed .from asheet of cardboard or heavy paper of the same outside dimensions as thecomposite paper-metal sheet, but with a hole in the center, so that thecomposite backed at its periphery, but has a weak or unreinforcedportion at the center, which facilitates opening the container. thebacking is shown at I9 in Figs. 2 and 3. Top section I6 is turned up atthe edges to form a ange, with the cardboard -on the outside, as shownat 20, so that, when it is dropped in place in the container box, withthe metal foil side up, the flange lies against the sides of the box fora short distance above the shoulder I4.

Fig. 4. illustrates the assembled container, showing the details ofsecuringthe frangible top in place, in the preferred manner. Here I0represents the bottom formed from a single sheet of metal, with anadhesive. metal foil I1 sheet is supported or'A This cut-out section ofstrengthening corrugations I3. Frangible section I6, composed of a thinmetal foil I1 with paper backing Ila, supported by heavy paper orcardboard center, as shown at I9, rests on shoulder I4, with the flange20 lying against the sides I5 of the box. The upward extensions of thesides, above the shoulder, are bent.`over and crimped against the metalof the composite sheet, and so as to compress the thick cardboard orpaper backing, as shown at 2|, to form a tight, moistureproof, all- Asheet metal cover, 22, friction fit, is then applied to the sealed box.

Fig. 5 illustrates another manner in which the frangible top may besealed into the container.

In this embodiment of the invention, the fran- -gible section 23 is ofthe same construction as that of Figs. 2 and 3, except that it is notprovided with an up-turned flange at the periphery. The section fitssnugly into the box, and rests upon shoulder I4, the upper edge of thebox being rolled over and crimped down upon the frangible section asshown at 24 to form a tight seal. The compression of the cardboard orthick paper support, and the tight iit of the metal foil with thecrimped edge "of the box insures a continuous metal seal.

Containers produced in" accordance with this invention have manyadvantages, and may be I8 at the periphery, but not at the used fordiverse purposes in various embodiments. They are of particularadvantage for use with hygroscopic materials, or materials which it isimportant to protect from ingress of moisture or air, such as variousfood and medicinal products, candies, etc. which are desirably marketedin hermetically sealed, moistureproof containers, which, while theyeiectively protect the contents, are nevertheless easily opened withoutresort to can-openers or the like, and which, when opened, are free fromsharp cutting edges.

The new containers have the further advan tage -that the frangiblesections' may be applied after the container is lled, and may be thelast section applied in assembling the container, and before applyingthe cover. Further, the containersare 'simple and easy to produce andare particularly advantageous where containers of inconsiderabledepthare desired, as all of the' container, save the frangible section,` maybe stamped from a single sheet of metal, and the container may be freefrom seams except where the frangible section is secured in place.

1. A hermetically sealed, moistureproof container having a bottom, sidesand a top, having a wall section comprising extremely thin polishedmetal foil, said metal foil having insuiicient stiiness and strength foruse as a wall section without reinforcement, adapted for printing andlithographing, adhesively fastened to flexible brous material andreinforced by heavier brous material, said reinforcement extendingaround the entire periphery of said section, but not over the entirearea of said section, said unreinforced area having a strength such thatit may beburst by the pressure of the fingers alone.-

2. A frangible wall sectionadapted for use in a hermetically sealed,moistureproof container comprising a sheet of extremely thin polishedmetal foil, said metal foil having nsuilcent stiifness and strength foruse as a wall section without reinforcement, -adapted for printing andlithographi-ng, adhesively fastened to a sheet of paper lreinforced bycardboard or heavy sti paperl for a substantial portion of its areaincluding the peripheral portion, but having a substantial portion notso reinforced, said unreinforced portion having a strength such that itmay be burst by the pressure of the ngers alone.

3. A frangible wall section adapted for use in a hermetically sealed,moistureproof comprising a sheet of extremely thin polished metal'foil,said metal foil having insumcient sti7- ness and strength for use as awall section without reinforcement, adapted for printing andlithographing, adhesively fastened to a sheet of paper,V reinforced bycardboard or heavy stiff paper for a, substantial portion of its area,including the peripheral portion, but having a substantial portion notso reinforced, said unreinforced portion having a strength such Vthat itmay be burst by the pressure of the fingers alone, the edges of saidsection being turned up to form a ange, with the cardboard or heavypaper on the outside of the iiange.

aUL s. PI'I'rENGER container

